The way things unfolded Friday night at Oracle
Arena, it was only fitting that Monta Ellis had the ball in his
hands with the score tied in the final seconds. Then things went
horribly off script for the Warriors. Ellis was picked clean by
George Hill as he attempted a drive to the basket. Hill raced in
for a layup, was fouled and converted a three-point play with 1.8
seconds left. Just like that, the Warriors were left to digest a
94-91 loss to the Indiana Pacers that had the potential for a much
happier finish for the home team.
The way things unfolded Friday night at Oracle Arena, it was only fitting that Monta Ellis had the ball in his hands with the score tied in the final seconds.
Then things went horribly off script for the Warriors.
Ellis was picked clean by George Hill as he attempted a drive to the basket. Hill raced in for a layup, was fouled and converted a three-point play with 1.8 seconds left.
Just like that, the Warriors were left to digest a 94-91 loss to the Indiana Pacers that had the potential for a much happier finish for the home team.
Ellis partnered with backcourt mate Stephen Curry, who returned after an eight-game absence because of a sprained right ankle, for an electrifying finish before 17,621 fans.
Curry scored seven straight Warriors points late in the fourth. Then Ellis rattled off six straight, including a runner in the lane with 45.9 seconds left that tied it 91-91.
After a timeout on the other end, Golden State got a stop to set up the last-second dramatics.
Hill’s steal and coast-to-coast drive might have been the game’s biggest play, but Pacers forward Danny Granger was the true thorn in the Warriors’ side. Granger finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting.
The finish was fitting in a back-and-forth game that featured an NBA season high for lead changes.
Curry finally got the green light to return Friday, and not surprisingly looked rusty early on.
He’d missed eight games with his injury, including a recently completed four-game road trip, and he was itching to get back.
He missed his first four shots of the game and was 2 for 8 from the field in the first half. He finished the game with 12 points. Ellis led the Warriors with 25.
“Sitting out eight games, being at home, was difficult,” Curry said during Friday morning’s shootaround. “It’s been tough. On the other hand, I can’t think about how many games I’m missing, because it sets you up for the trap of coming back too soon.”
Therefore, the Warriors proceeded with caution with Curry, who has endured recurring problems with his ankle all season. He said the ankle felt good enough to play five or six days ago, but he was held out to give it extra rest.
It wasn’t determined he would play Friday until about 90 minutes before tipoff, after Curry passed a series of tests to measure the strength in his ankle.
“Feeling good enough to play versus not letting it happen again is two different things,” Curry said. “That’s why it’s taken an extended period of time.”
Curry entered Friday averaging 15.2 points a game, third on the team behind Ellis (23.2) and David Lee (19.3).
– Friday’s game marked Brandon Rush’s first against his former team. The Pacers traded him to the Warriors for Louis Amundson on Dec. 19, and Rush didn’t hide his excitement at facing Indiana.
“My emotions are pretty high and positive,” Rush said Friday morning. “I don’t have any grudge against them. It’s a business, and that’s how I look at it. I’m happy with where I am right now, so I’ve got no complaints.”
Rush, the 13th overall pick by Portland in the 2008 draft, has quickly established himself as a key man off the bench for Golden State. He entered Friday’s game averaging 9.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
“We loved Lou and what he did for us,” Curry said. “But as a (small forward) who can come off the bench and be instant offense, and defensively be long and athletic, it allows us to have more depth at that position on the defensive end.”
Said Warriors coach Mark Jackson of Rush: “He’s not a guy that ever gets in trouble on the basketball court. He understands what he does well and what he needs to work on, and every time we’ve called on him, he’s been ready.”
Amundson came in averaging 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game for Indiana.
– Friday marked the opening of a six-game homestand for the Warriors, and Jackson hopes his team can take advantage.
“We have a great stretch,” Jackson said. “We’re at home. They’re not ‘gimme’ games, but we can really put together a heck of a run right now, and it starts with taking care of business on a nightly basis before you can look at it in a chunk. We’re not good enough to look at it in a chunk yet.”
– Andris Biedrins registered a blocked shot in the first half, the 507th of his career. That tied him for seventh in franchise history with George Johnson.
